The rain has returned to Oregon, so for lunch today I craved something hearty.
But I had a problem…I only had one hamburger bun.
Soon, a smile crept in and I decided it would be National Vegan Junk Food Day in my house, and at that very moment.
WARNING: This is not a fancy recipe. It’s a bachelor version. Heat, serve, stuff.
Things that make you go YUMM
You will need:
2 Vegan burgers (my fav are currently sold at Fred Meyer)
2 slices of Daiya Vegan Cheese slices
4-6 slices of Tofurkey Bacon Tempeh
ONE BUN
Condiments of choice.
1. Grill your burgers on the grill and add bacon slices about half way through.
Not the most appealing image, but at least it’s VEGAN.
2. Add the Daiya when the burgers are just about ready. I used an electric grill, so I had to hold the lid down close to the cheese so the heat would melt it, but not too close that it stuck.
Lunch one day at A.N.D. in Portland and Dinner at Wayward in Seattle!? It’s a vegan race up I-5 in this week’s restaurant review double header!
This was my second visit to Wayward Vegan Cafe, located in Seattle’s vegan mecca of University Way.
When you first pull up, the outside leaves a little to be desired, looking pretty run down and sandwiched between a couple of sketchy bars. And, honestly the inside, while clean, is not much better.
But, once you are over the austere decor, you are in for some truly delicious vegan chow!
Wayward Vegan offers more healthy choices, but each time I go, I find myself opting for a more “junk” food experience. It is also really cool that you can order breakfast or lunch all day.
The first time I visited, I ordered the “Mac Daddy” which is essentially a vegan Big Mac. Their menu describes it as “Two no beef patties, reuben sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun.” It was pretty awesome to eat something so vegan and so bad for you.
The Mac Daddy
I also ordered the peach cobbler which quite honestly was not really that good. The nuclear fuel rod temperature it came out at might have had something to do with it, as it was waaaay over warmed. After letting it cool for a long time, I had a couple of bites and left the rest for the compost.
The super hot peach cobbler.
On my second visit I was starving. I had just raced the clock, trying to make it by 9:00PM (closing time). I asked the person taking my order what their most popular thing was, and ordered it. I waited in eagerness while my food was delivered.
It was a beautiful vegan club sammy!
This puppy was huge. Full of tempeh bacon, ham and turkey, on buttered bread, it was also really filling and probably not that good for me.
The Vegan Club Sandwich
The Club was pretty good. The tempeh was not very bacony (which may or may not be a good thing for some) and I found it overall just lacking some flavor. It was still yummy, but surprisingly missing something.
For dessert I ordered the Oreo Cheesecake and it was really good. Not as firm as some of the better cheesecakes I have had, but still tasty and fresh.
Oreo Cheesecake!!
The Wayward Vegan Cafe is a good place to stop for some really “good” junk food. I will most likely check it out once a year or so on my visits to Seattle, but not more than that.
As many people know, brunching in Portland is something of an olympic sport. It is part of our heritage, much like good espresso, grey Winter days, and cold craft beer. And, just like never owning an umbrella, people have come to look at standing in a long line as something that actually defines a true Portlander.
So, when you can find an amazing vegan brunchery (not a word until just now) with not much of a wait, it is like the heavens have opened up and a thousand angels are singing.
This sign beckons me in my dreams. Is that creepy?
A.N.D. Cafe rarely has a long line of hungry souls, but that is not due to the food, atmosphere, or service. I tend to think it is due to being “farther out” on Burnside than most fixie riders are willing to go.
Let them have the Screen Doors and Tin Sheds of the World. We’ll fill up the Jeep and barrel her down Burnside for some of the best vegan food Portland has to offer.
A.N.D. Cafe is, by default vegan. However, upon request, vegetarians and omnis can elect to have eggs and dairy cheese subbed.
Let’s talk food.
I cannot recommend enough, anything with their walnut meat loaf. My personal fav is the Meatloaf Benedict, but the sammy is great also. On their menu, the MB is defined as “herb tofu or two poached eggs, walnut meatloaf, hollandaise, toast.”
Meatloaf Benedict
The Florentine waffle is an amazing choice, with chicken (Beyond Meat), gravy, scrambled tofu, hollandaise, and tomatoes. It also is stuffed with cheese (I’m thinking Daiya) and spinach.
The Waffle Florentine
Just today I tried the Buffalo Blue Hoagie, a buffalo chicken (ala Beyond Meat) sandwich with homemade blue cheese and spinach. The soft, velvety bread makes this easy to eat. It is a top contender for possibly being one of my favorite all-time vegan sandwiches. And I don’t just throw that around all willy-nilly.
The best vegan sammy in ALL of Portland? The Buffalo Bleu Hoagie.
Melanie ordered their special today, which was a fried tofu cutlet with gravy, kale and cheddar jalapeno corn bread. She liked it, but made the mistake of trying my chicken sammy first. Once she had that, the bar was set too high for the tofu cutlet to keep up.
Today’s special: The Lucky Plate
Service is short, brisk, and very pleasant which is really what you want in a place like this. I don’t have time for clingy waiters and waitresses – get my order right, bring me my food, check on me from time to time, and let me free up that table for the next hungry group.
The people at A.N.D. Cafe are always great.
Let’s talk about the BAD parts of A.N.D. Cafe:
….
(there are none)
In conclusion, this place is a pillar of the vegan scene in PDX and should never be missed. If you are a vegan in town and have not been here yet, GO THERE. Make it a regular stop. If you have out of town guests, take them here and blow their minds.
Last night, we entertained some of our closest friends up on the mountain. Melanie always likes to try new vegan recipes, so I thought I would share what we prepared for any last minute vegan holiday food ideas!
½ small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into ¼-inch cubes
4 Tbs. crumbled vegan feta, divided (see link at bottom of this post for the recipe)
Directions:
Slide 1 mint leaf into cavity of 1 Peppadew. Fill with 1 or 2 cucumber cubes, then stuff with 1/2 tsp. crumbled feta. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Chill until ready to serve.
Tonight we wanted something new. Not the same burrito run to El Nutri, or a quick bowl at the B&B. Melanie rolled the random dice on Yelp and we pointed the car at Harlow on SE Hawthorne.
The bright, spacious area was warm and somewhat cozy.
Walking in, I was surprised with the bright, slightly sterile atmosphere. The heavy influence of wood and twang of vintage in the space’s design plays well with the open, bright layout. They have a nice section of vegan odds and ends, and some branded clothing on one side of the restaurant. Continue reading Restaurant Review: Harlow [Portland]→
One of my favorite things to do when traveling internationally, is to open the Happy Cow app on my phone and go find an awesome vegan place off the tourist radar.
When I first went to Dublin in 2011, I was leery that I would have any luck at all even finding a vegan restaurant, let alone one I would love, and return to again and again.
Every day, Cornucopia gets fresh. local produce delivered to make the meals for the day.
Cornucopia is a local legend, in that it started in the mid 70’s, during a time of political and economic upheaval. Yet, in the midst of this, two people were able to start and grow a vegetarian/vegan restaurant in the city centre. Continue reading Restaurant Review: Cornucopia [Dublin]→
UPDATED! I have purchased another vegan holster, from Bladetech and included it at the end.
I’ll save the whole “Wait…you’re a vegan and you have guns!?” discussion for another day. Yes, yes I own guns and enjoy self-defense and target shooting. Moving on.
One of the hardest things to find for me, is a vegan concealed carry holster. Most brands, made by companies like Galco and others are made mostly with leather and polymer.
BLACKHAWK
Fortunately, when I recently purchased my Springfield XDS .45, the store had an ample supply of vegan holsters made by Blackhawk.
My Springfield Armory XDS chambered in .45 in the Blackhawk size 5 holster.
It is important to note that these holsters are not marketed (for obvious reasons) as a vegan holster. They are basically an inexpensive option for people that can’t afford (financially or morally, I guess) the leather versions.
I’ll take it! This puppy was $12.00 and works like a charm. It’s like the Payless shoes for vegan gun owners (vegans will get the joke)!
The holster material is already forming to the shape of the pistol in only 2 days.
The nice part about their website is that they also organize the holsters by material. So you can quickly identify which are vegan and which are not. The nylon options are here.
My only complaint is the tapered section (as you see in the image) leaves the grooves on the rear of the slide exposed. When seated, this presses those metal grooves into your back which is not the most comfortable. Eventually this may affect the gun’s finish, but we’ll see.
For a $12.00, non-leather holster you cannot go wrong with this option!
BLADETECH
In December, 2015 I was strolling the aisles of my local cabelas, and looked at the plastic CCW holsters they offered. I found this option for the XDS, priced at $23.
Unlike the Blackhawk above, I wanted something that offered more positive locking of the pistol. The holster from Bladetech was inexpensive, solid plastic, and has a positive “click” when the gun is fully seated.
The Bladetech offering.
The belt clip also has a much better “barb” that provides more secure carry in the belt.
I have not spent a ton of time with the holster, but the past few days I feel it is comfortable and easy to carry.
UPDATE #2! 12/18/2016
I added a beautiful Sig Sauer P320 to my arsenal and added a Streamlight TLR-1s tactical light to it. This is a full frame pistol, so I gave up on CC.
I added a kydex Multicam holster for it, which accommodates the light. Holster is from TR Holsters. It’s an OWB configuration and so far, so good.
Days later, Ronnen was in Boston promising to put his life savings into the project. He and Brown convinced Casino to move to California and lined up investment from Khosla Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm specializing in green technology. Jean Prevot, director of operations for Laura Chenel’s Chèvre, also joined Kite Hill to help them design and build a production facility in Hayward, California, just a few hundred yards from the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay.
Cathy Strange, the global cheese buyer for Whole Foods Market, tasted the Kite Hill lineup earlier this year. “I loved it instantly,” she says. “I could taste the culture, the rind. I’ve never, ever seen this kind of texture in an alternative milk product.” As a result of that tasting, Kite Hill reached a deal to retail exclusively through Whole Foods.
![Restaurant Review: Wayward Vegan Cafe [Seattle]](https://offroadvegan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/2014-01-02-20-23-25.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
![Restaurant Review: A.N.D. Cafe [Portland]](https://offroadvegan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/2014-01-02-11-54-26.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
![Restaurant Review: Harlow [Portland]](https://offroadvegan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/2013-12-03-06-54-06-1.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
![Restaurant Review: Cornucopia [Dublin]](https://offroadvegan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/2012-09-13-13-05-45.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
Off-road Vegan 